News

‘European pack for visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum’ available on-line

The “European pack for visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum” — an English language publication for teachers and educators who are planning a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial Site, has been made available electronically on the Auschwitz Museum internet site.

The publication is the result of a several year undertaking by professionals from the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the Council of Europe as well as the Polish Ministry of Education.

In this book you will find not only all the necessary practical information about organizing the visit, but above all, texts and historical materials, lesson plans, and information about the contemporary meaning and functioning of the Auschwitz Memorial.

The first part of the book is devoted to preparing for the visit. This includes, what students should know before they come to the Memorial, what emotions they will have to cope with during the tour, and how a meeting with a witness of history can be useful — these are just a few of the topics touched upon.

In the second part, which concerns the visit to Auschwitz, there is information concerning the history of the Museum, the activities of the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust and other educational institutions functioning around the Memorial Site, and a brief description of the Museum's exhibition. One of the chapters is devoted to the basic problems that may arise during the visit, including both the organizational and emotional issues.

What to do once the group returns from their visit to the Memorial Site is the subject of the third part the publication. Among the subjects addressed in this section are topics, such as, creating a summary of the group’s visit, suggestions for interdisciplinary projects that take place at the intersection between the history of Auschwitz and the modern world. There are also several lesson plans, including, "What to do with what you learned in Auschwitz."

DOWNLOAD the “European pack for visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum”.